Farm News, Dec 19th, 2025. Wendy

Even though the winter solstice is a few days away, the farm is fully in winter.  We awoke to -4 degrees and 6 inches of snow Sunday morning - it's lovely!  Adrian and I took turns removing snow from the plastic of a hoophouse with a pushbroom Saturday night as the accumulation built up.  The plastic on that particular hoophouse was scheduled to be changed this season.  However we didn't find the time to do it, and it was definitely showing strain with the added weight. The greens within were nestled below 2 and even 3 layers of rowcover, depending on the crop.  And in the hoophouses that were strong enough to withstand the weight, the snow added another layer of insulation from the cold.

Winter forces us to change our pace.  Everything moves more slowly and organically, and that is welcomed.  We follow a more natural flow of tasks, which incorporates more maintenance, and all of the things that have been put on the "do in the winter" list.  Adrian finished construction on our newest hoophouse in November - it will be used exclusively for flowers.  We have vehicles serviced, cut and stack wood, clean and organize areas that have been neglected, place seed orders, adjust planting guides, review applications for next year's apprentices, catch up on book-keeping, and recordkeeping for our organic certification, and continue harvesting and washing and delivering and going to market. 

And then we cross country ski, do baking for neighbors, dive into the winter reading lists, pursue creative outlets, and enjoy time with family and friends. We feel a little more human for a few months before jumping back onto our hamster wheel.  A book that I have appreciated is Katherine May's book, Wintering.  In it, she says, "More than any other season, winter requires a kind of metronome that ticks away its darkest beats, giving us a melody to follow into spring.  The year will move on no matter what, but by paying attention to it, feeling its beat, and noticing the moments of transition - perhaps even taking time to think about what we want from the next phase in the year - we can get the measure of it."  And that's really what we're doing at this time of year.

The plants, too, are moving more slowly.  We have made the deliberate choice not to heat any of our hoophouses at this point in time, and that means that during this darkest time of year, with the colder than usual temperatures that we've experienced this month, growth is very limited.  As such, our greens have not had enough regrowth to be at market tomorrow.  Our hope is that with slightly milder temperatures, we will be able to be there on the 27th.  We hope you will attend and support all of the other farms and vendors.  And we wish all of you a good and beautiful winter season until we see you next!